


Ice Cream

by aurora_chiroptera



Series: Peter/Ned [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 11:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11553798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurora_chiroptera/pseuds/aurora_chiroptera
Summary: Peter finds that after all that happens, his feelings for Ned might be changing...





	Ice Cream

“So, wait, you turned down being an Avenger?” Ned was sitting on the floor, the pieces of a lego x-wing squadron around him on the floor.

“It was a test, you know?” Peter said, from his upside down position, hanging from some web attached to the ceiling. “Like, Tony wanted me to prove that I was ready to take responsibility for the little things. Because they are important too. Maybe when I am done high school, then I can really join them.”

“Wow, good job seeing through that,” Ned beamed up at him. “And for May not killing you.”

“Not yet... but I am going to be trying to make all this up to her for a long time,” Peter sighed. “It’s not like I want her to worry. But it’s hard, when we are really all the other has.”

“You have me,” Ned said, frowning slightly.

Peter felt his heart speed up and heat in his cheeks, like when Liz smiled at him. “Yeah, I do have you. My man in the chair.”

 

Peter had known for a long time that he liked people in a way that paid little regard to gender. Or, as he called it, bisexual as heck. He came to accept it with the exploration of his powers. He was different, in more way than one. And he quite liked that about himself.

What he wasn’t sure what to do about was his growing feelings for Ned. Ned, who had been his closest friend for so long. The shifting emotions seemed to come from all he did to support Peter tracking down Liz’s father, in being so excited to help Peter as both Peter and Spider-man.

He never wanted waited the fear he experienced when he learned Ned was carrying the alientech bomb.

Aunt May found him musing over all of this, on the couch, eating straight from a tub of ice cream. She got her own spoon, and sat beside him. “Want to talk?” she asked, digging up a chunk of fudge.

Peter sighed as only a teenager could, “Yeah, probably.”

“Feelings about Liz and her leaving?” May guessed.

“Mixed up with some other feelings,” Peter admitted.

“New crush?”

“In a way... it’s complicated.”

“Is it Ned?”

It was a good thing May had a hold on the ice cream or even with his reflexes, Peter would have dropped it. “How did you know?”

“One, I’m your aunt,” May said around her spoon. “Two, you have been spending even more time with him. And from what you have told me about what happened these last few months, he has been there for you. You have both experienced things that tend to change relationships and feelings.”

Peter flopped his head back, groaning, “What am I going to do?”

“Talk to him?” May suggested.

“It can’t be that easy,” Peter protested.

“In my experience, it usually is,” May said. “Enough ice cream for both of us! Come help me make dinner.”

“Too full.”

“Even superheroes need to eat their veggies,” May advised. “Captain America probably said that once.”

 

Peter did follow May’s advice, in a way. He while he was on patrol that night he practiced what he could say to Ned with KAREN.

“Are you over Liz?” KAREN asked, interrupting their current practice conversation.”

“Not is so many words,” Peter admitted. “It’s complicated. Why can’t you just play along?”

KAREN didn’t talk to him for the rest of the evening.

 

“Oh no,” May said, when the next day she found Peter and the ice cream once more sulking. She got her spoon, and Peter passed her the new pint.

“Am I betraying Liz by feeling this way?”

“No,” May assured. “You never had a relationship with her, though your long crush might have felt like one.”

“I think I still like her, though not in the same way I used to,” Peter said. “All my feelings about her feel more... sad.”

“That is understandable,” May said. “And what about your feelings towards Ned?”

“Happier, if confused,” Peter said, then a little smile came to his face. “Safe.”

May looked at him adoringly, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Well, I think there’s your answer.”

 

If only it were as simple as May made it out to be. But now every interaction with Ned, Peter found himself too aware of everything, especially his body. He had to be careful, he didn’t want to use his friendship with Ned in someway he shouldn’t. Not with Ned not knowing how he felt. He had thought he was being really stealthy about it too, when Ned said, “Okay, what is wrong with you? Are some of your spider powers making you more jumpy lately?”

Peter looked up from the library book he was trying to focus on. He was once more hanging upside down, Ned leaning against his bed on the floor. Ned’s room was about as big as Peter’s own and they had decided to meet there because May had a date. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You flinch away from me when I lean towards you in class,” Ned said. “You keep doing it. Are you sure your senses are okay? At first I thought it might be that I needed more deodorant or something but then I started thinking about how these changes might affect the human senses and then about how puberty might affect the spider affects and-”

“Ned.”

Ned looked up. Their faces were very close. Peter could see all the calculations and thoughts running through Ned’s head just from the way his eyes were alight.

“Can I kiss you?” The words spilled out before Peter could stop them.

The little frown came to Ned’s face. Then it lit with a smile. “Dude, yes.”

The kiss went reasonably well, as first kissed go. It was quickly obvious that Peter’s being upside down made things more awkward than they had to be.

When Aunt May and Peter met with ice cream on the couch late that night, they both had very good things to report.

 

Ned grabbed the hat from his locker and placed it on Peter’s head. They smiled at each other long enough that they didn’t see MJ approach. She startled them by saying, “What, are you two dating now?”

“Yeah,” Peter said, glancing bashfully over at Ned.

MJ didn’t look surprised. “Okay cool. This isn’t going to mess with studying for competitions, right?”

“No,” Ned promised.

“Who knows, it may help,” Peter adjusted the hat.

“Mhm,” MJ nodded, as though calculating this. “Maybe Ned can keep your weirdness in line, Peter.”

“I like his weirdness,” Ned said and Peter blushed.

“Yep, gonna leave now if you two are going to be cute about all this,” she waved a finger at them both before stalking off.

“Do you think she ever smiles?” Ned whispered.

“Only when she is right,” Peter said back. The bell rang, signally they had better head to class. Peter reached to grab Ned’s hand as if it was the easiest thing to do. “Come on, we can’t be late!”

Ned followed with a smile.


End file.
